Uncommon Commentary: Creative people in small towns—to leave or not to leave, that is the question?

I once wrote a piece about this for a student newspaper for which I worked as the opinion editor. When the editor in chief read it she immediately got offended by my opinions, which I had written in the form of a commentary for the "opinion" section of the paper. She said I had to change what I wrote but I balked. The more I disagreed, the more she put pressure on me to change it and I eventually and reluctantly acquiesced, foolishly! I'm the last person who would be willing for fold under any such pressure but I did in this case and for no reason because I wrote nothing wrong!

At any rate, in this commentary I wrote about the fact that Washington State has a very limited, finite creative industry in which to play, move around in and grow. The editor in chief argued that there are plenty of options here, to which I insisted there are limits. And that is a true fact, not really an opinion. There are some opportunities here in Washington State I will say that but there is not an exhaustive amount of opportunities compared to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Atlanta to name a few.

In the commentary I also encouraged any like-minded readers to reach for the stars and make their dreams come true if they want to leave the "small town." I encouraged readers to break out of their small town mentality and imagine if they will, a world beyond main street.

I further encouraged readers not to let the haters, the nay sayers or the discouragers stop them with nasty little quips and insulting barbs about how they can't do something or get anywhere because of where they are from, who they are and what kind of family or upbringing they had. No one should settle for putting limits on themselves. I say put on your armor of confidence and be a "No Limit Soldier" (thank you Master P for coining that term)!

As a budding journalist and media maven that experience has served to remind me to fight for what I believe in a little bit harder and not buckle under pressure for anyone unless absolutely necessary.

So to you my readers, I want you to absorb what I wrote here and start believing the impossible is possible. If you are a small town inhabitant like I am and you want to live a far out dream like becoming an artist in Paris, a film maker in LA or a fashion designer in New York City. JUST DO IT! Reach for the dream and jump the hurdles and dodge the naysayers and share your story here!